


Every King Has A Court

by ghostchibi



Series: Lyons Live AU [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur Maxson as a Paladin, Background Relationships, Chronic Pain, Disabled Character, F/M, Genderfluid Character, M/M, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prosthesis, Sarah and Owen Lyons aren't dead, Trans Female Character, specifically f!SoSu/f!LW
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-05-29 10:37:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6371488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostchibi/pseuds/ghostchibi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paladin Arthur Maxson has a team of his own, as all Paladins do; five Knights and two Field Scribes whom he would trust with his life. He's also got his boyfriend Trinn, his close friend Natalia, his sister Aurelia, his brother Danse, and Sarah at his back to support him through everything life is bound to throw at him.</p><p>If only he'd actually be honest to them about the shit that life <i>has</i> thrown at him.</p><p>-----</p><p>A companion work to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/6104042">Hello There, Newcomer</a>, following Arthur Maxson and his story within the AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ab Initio

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fethermage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fethermage/gifts).



> Hello There, Newcomer is an AU that's pretty much perfect to give me ideas for stories beyond the main fic, and after several lengthy discussions with fethermage/Goose we ended up coming up with a LOT of ideas for Arthur Maxson that could be applied to the AU. Honestly, a great deal of the brainstorming behind this fic was done with Goose and a lot of these ideas were created by the two of us thinking together so a great deal of credit should definitely go to them too.
> 
>  
> 
> we both just have so many emotions about Arthur Maxson okay
> 
>  
> 
> Since there's gonna be a lot of ocs introduced all at once in the first few chapters, I'll include notes at the beginning of relevant chapters to help prevent confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter introduces Arthur's boyfriend Senior Scribe Trinn Rosner, and a few members of Arthur's squad, Knight Malik/Malika Dartmouth, Knight Brandon Choi, Knight Prema Narang, and Field Scribe Ester Lawrence. Trinn is a nonbinary man (using he/him), Malik/Malika is bigender (male and female) and goes by both Malik and Malika, Brandon is male, and Prema and Ester are female.

"Are you okay?"

Arthur nods immediately, and his answer is met with a look of careful doubt as Trinn reaches over to place his hand on Arthur's shoulder. He manages a smile despite the deep ache in his elbow, and it seems to be enough to placate the scribe for now.

"If your arm is acting up, you really should get it looked at," Trinn replies. Arthur shakes his head, but doesn't say anything yet; he's afraid if he opens his mouth, he'll make it obvious to Trinn that he's in pain.

"I'm fine. I promise."

Trinn is a highly perceptive person; it's difficult to get anything past him. It doesn't help that he's partially trained in medicine, not quite enough to be a field scribe but enough to know the signs of various disorders and how to recognize pain or discomfort. He's older and wiser than Arthur, probably much more intelligent (he is a senior scribe, after all), and Arthur is afraid that he's also starting to become much better at reading Arthur's expressions.

His boyfriend is too attentive, which is a very strange thing to complain about in a romantic partner in any other situation.

"I'm _fine_ ," Arthur emphasizes, reaches over with his left hand to grip Trinn's right. Trinn immediately relaxes, squeezes his hand around Arthur's, but the expression of worry is still there.

"Senior Scribe Rosner!"

Trinn spins immediately, his hand pulling away from Arthur's as he's called away by a harried looking young Scribe. He replies with a curt promise to follow, but turns back to Arthur instead of standing up.

"I'll be back. Love you," he says, and leans in to kiss Arthur directly on the mouth. It's supposed to be a quick peck, Arthur thinks, but it lasts for at least a few seconds, Trinn cradling Arthur's cheek in his hand before reluctantly breaking the kiss. He closes his eyes, willing away the blush Arthur sees painted across his face; Arthur wants to keep kissing him, keep him here close by, but Trinn has to leave and Arthur needs some privacy soon too.

"I love you too," Arthur replies, and watches as Trinn's retreating form follows the Scribe out of the mess hall.

"Oooooooooooh, Mister Maxson!"

Arthur closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose at the sound of several giggles and Malika's voice. Very quickly he's accosted by his squad, led by Malika at the front wearing a huge grin.

"He really is handsome when he's not yelling at everyone to feed themselves, huh sir?" the Knight says, choosing to vault over the table to sit opposite of Arthur rather than walk around it like any other normal human being. Prema and Ester seat themselves on either side of Arthur, managing to be a little bit less irreverent. Brandon manages to be more irreverent by sitting down on the tabletop instead of in a chair.

"Where are the rest of you?" Arthur asks, ignoring Malika's question entirely.

"Probably off making trouble, sir. Garcia is sleeping though, the lazy asshole."

"Aaaach. He's lucky to have you, sir," Brandon adds, craning his neck to watch Trinn leave.

"Knight Choi should stop trying to flirt with his commanding officer," Malika butts in, flicking Brandon on the cheek. He gives her a look of deep dissatisfaction, and Arthur shakes his head.

"You all may not have duties, but you still are expected to act with a certain amount of decorum, _Knight Dartmouth_ ," Arthur grumbles, and Malika just gives him one of her usual dazzling, toothy grins in response. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

* * *

He makes it back to his room without breaking down. His elbow protests terribly when he uses his right hand to close the door behind him. Arthur exhales and hurries to yank down the zipper of his uniform, freeing his right arm as quickly as he can. The orange suit gives way and reveals a curved pad against his elbow. Steadily, his other hand goes to it, pushing against the pad before slowly pulling his prosthetic off.

It comes off smoothly, and Arthur slowly slides into a sitting position with his back against the door. He lets it rest on his lap, looking at the attachment socket before his eyes sweep across it to the fingers. All of it appears to be skin, but he knows that underneath it are wires and metal and circuitry. All of it machine, up to his elbow where it connects to flesh and blood and nerves, where it bursts into nothing but the sensation of pressure and deep, unrelenting pain.

It's always hurt like this.

He thought he would die, at first. Back when he fought the deathclaw and won, his cheek sliced open and his arm torn to shreds, the medics had panicked over what to do. There was no way they could save his arm, they said, there was too much damage, it could end up making him sick through infection. So they had chosen to remove it, save as much as they could, and replace it the best they could. A prosthesis, almost imperceptible as such without prior knowledge, they'd promised him. He would be able to move and fight again just like he did before. They told him not to worry. They told him that some pain and discomfort were perfectly normal. He had just lost his arm, of course, it would be odd _not_ to feel any pain.

So when the medication wore off and his elbow felt like it was on fire, he didn't say anything. Pain was normal. He needed to push through it. He was a Maxson, he could do it. He thought that maybe the pain would subside after a while. He just needed to bear it.

It's been seven years since then, and there's been no subsiding in the pain at all. If anything, it's only gotten worse.

Arthur grips his shoulder, clenching his teeth and breathing hard through his nose. At least with the prosthetic off, he doesn't have to worry about the feedback from the sensors creating pressure in his elbow and making the pain worse. But it still hurts, so badly, so much, with no way to make it stop. He sobs, and rubs his upper arm in an attempt to disperse some of the tension there. It doesn't help.

His fingers uncurl from around his arm, and slowly he reaches toward the shelf next to the door, hand fumbling to keep a grip on the bottle placed there. He manages to get it to his lips and take a huge swig, alcohol burning down his throat. It's soothing to feel something other than the pain in his elbow, even if it is his mouth and throat complaining against too-strong whiskey. Arthur coughs, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, and sits there with his back against the door until he's able to drag himself to bed.

* * *

Trinn knocks on his door later, because of course he does. He would have asked where Arthur had gone when he returned to the mess hall and saw that he was gone. Plenty of people would have seen Arthur returning to his quarters. And they would have pointed Trinn in the right direction anyway out of the kindness of wanting to let the two spend time together, or maybe out of fear of Arthur's fury should anyone mistreat Trinn.

"Permission to enter?"

He's always so formal with this. There are no rules about who can and can't enter private quarters if given permission from their owners, and no real social stigma against it especially with a senior scribe and a paladin.

Arthur is tempted to say no. He knows that if Trinn sees him, he'll be able to tell that Arthur had a drink or two. And his elbow is still hurting. But he misses Trinn, and he's going to be heading out on a mission soon, which means being away from the Prydwen for a while.

"Go ahead."

Trinn quietly closes the door behind him as he enters and slides into bed, chest pressed to Arthur's back.

"Are you okay?" he asks, planting a soft kiss against Arthur's spine.

"Just a little sore."

Trinn is the only one who knows that Arthur is in any pain at all. He thinks that Cade knows too though, that he's helping Arthur manage the pain. Trinn has no idea exactly how bad it is, or that he's the only person aware of this. If Arthur had his way, Trinn wouldn't know either, but he's too sharp to fool and knows Arthur too well at this point to be lied to convincingly.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles as he rubs his hand against Arthur's upper arm. "Don't be afraid to ask Cade to increase your dose if you need to. He knows what he's doing."

Knowing that Trinn believes Arthur's lie is painful. Instead of replying, Arthur sighs and grabs Trinn's hand to press against his chest.

"It's okay." Another lie. It's not okay. Even with the alcohol, the burning, stabbing pain won't wane.

They lie there for a while, until Trinn yawns and curses under his breath.

"I can't fall asleep here," he grumbles, although it's evident from his voice that he wants to. "I should go. Love you, Arthur."

Trinn wants a kiss, so Arthur obliges him; there's a brief flash of something in his eyes, probably recognizing the whiskey he can taste on Arthur, but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he gives Arthur another quick peck on the cheek and rises.

"I love you too," Arthur replies, rolling onto his back to smile at Trinn. "I'll see you tomorrow."


	2. No Time For Haste

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter introduces the rest of Maxson's squad missing from the first chapter: Knight Esteban Garcia, Knight Micah Quaye, and Field Scribe Seamus McEntaggart. Esteban is nonbinary, Micah is a demigirl, and Seamus is male. The Lone Wanderer is Aurelia Goldstein who considers Arthur her brother, hence the references to her as Arthur's sister. She, Danse, and Arthur are more or less regarded as siblings by themselves and the people around them, and so they'll be referred to as such throughout the story.
> 
> Warning for some semi-graphic imaginary imagery.

"Lo and behold, the comatose Knight Garcia cannot stay awake for more than ten minutes at a time!"

"Field Scribe Lawrence needs to learn to keep her damn mouth shut before someone shuts it for her," Esteban growls and rubs their eyes, but Ester only giggles in response, completely undeterred. It's too early in the morning for these shenanigans; yet another sleepless night for Arthur has left him exhausted, but work is work and he's been called to Sentinel Lyons with his squad.

" _Behave_ ," he snaps at the two of them, scowling, and they immediately quiet.

Strike Team Hephaestus is well-trained despite what an outside view of their behavior may suggest. They should be, after all; they're the squad of the last descendant of Roger Maxson, and the Maxsons should only ever command the best of the best. Everyone from quiet, prim-and-proper Brandon to ball-of-excitement Malika had been hand-picked by Arthur himself, and he has the utmost trust in their abilities.

They march to the Sentinel's office in silence, and Sentinel Lyons looks up from her desk as they file in. Arthur is sure that she can see the exhaustion on his face, and silently prays that she doesn't say a word about it.

"I'll make this brief; I am worried for Paladin Danse and his squad. They were supposed to have come to Boston Airport once their mission had completed, but with not a single message from them I can only fear the worst."

Arthur tenses; he can feel the rest of his squad watch him from the corner of their eyes.

"Are we to search for them, ma'am?" he asks. He's not sure if he would rather be the one to find Danse, or to have to wait and hear the news.

"Not yet, but possibly so. I have concerns over Miss Goldstein as well, but her last message to me suggested that she was in the area."

"She's only one person," Arthur argues. "If we must go after Paladin Danse and his squad, then we must go."

Aurelia Goldstien is a remarkable woman, and Arthur would hardly bat an eyelash if someone were to tell him that she had taken on a horde of synths by herself. But she's in unfamiliar territory, alone, and if Danse's squad is already in trouble then Aurelia can't possibly be of much more aid.

"She isn't alone. Have some faith in your sister. I can't bear to waste any of our soldiers right now, not with increased danger from the Institute. If I have reasons to believe that sending you in will keep me from losing more soldiers, I'll do it."

Arthur closes his eyes and nods. Have some faith, Sarah says, but faith had never kept anyone alive. It hadn't saved his parents, and it hadn't saved Aurelia's.

"Yes ma'am," he replies, and he can feel Malika tense next to him.

* * *

"What are you doing?"

"Preparing."

"Sentinel Lyons said we might not even be heading out," Seamus says, but Brandon's hands don't stop. He continues to fill his pack, ignoring Seamus until his hand is grabbed and he looks up to see Micah.

"If we get orders, we head out. Until then we have to stay put." Brandon glares and ignores her as well.

"Brandon!"

"If we _are_ sent out, then we need to leave as fast as possible!" he snaps, flipping the cloth closure on his pack closed fast enough that the straps whip through the air. "We can't waste time on packing, we have to leave as soon as we can because who knows what's going on with Paladin Danse's squad! And if Miss Goldstein is there too, we can't-"

Everyone immediately quiets; Arthur has stepped into the knights' quarters, and is staring at the group standing around Brandon's bunk. Brandon has his back to Arthur, and is the only one who doesn't salute when Arthur approaches.

"Knight Choi, is something the matter?"

"Sir," Brandon says, slowly standing and turning around to properly salute Arthur. "I was ensuring that I would be ready if Sentinel Lyons ordered us to search for Paladin Danse's squad."

"Sentinel Lyons has not given us any orders yet. We are to remain on the Prydwen and await further orders, and those may or may not be to search for Paladin Danse's squad," Arthur replies, voice level. His arms are behind his back, back straight, giving him a sense of tallness more so than his actual height. His "commander" stance, as Prema had once described it.

"I'm aware of that sir. I have no intention on disobeying the Sentinel. I just thought that-"

"You had already made up your mind that you would be receiving orders from the Sentinel. That was not an order she gave us, Knight. That was forewarning."

Brandon's head dips slightly.

"Unpack your bag, Knight, and return anything that you don't immediately require," Arthur orders, and turns on his heel. He leaves his squad like that, knowing that Brandon would not disobey him. He understands the Knight's concern, and if he's honest with himself he feels the same restless worry as well. Danse is capable, as is Aurelia. Even if something had happened, Danse and his squad would have the means to push through it. Arthur knows this.

And yet...

* * *

The budding worry turns into full-blown panic a week later, not at all helped by the horrible ache in his elbow. Arthur digs the nails of his left hand into his leg, his right shoulder tensed from the aching and now stuck in a near-perpetual cramp. He tells himself repeatedly that everything is okay, that Danse and Aurelia are alright, but with silence from both of them and no sign of their return, his mind thrusts the worst possible scenarios at him over and over again.

_Danse crushed under a pile of rubble._

_Aurelia torn to shreds by a deathclaw._

_Danse cut and strung up in a raider den._

_Aurelia with a bullet through her head._

_Danse reduced to ash by fire or laser._

_Aurelia floating face-down in a sewer._

"Arthur, you're shaking."

Trinn's voice cuts through his thoughts, and a moment later Arthur feels a warm hand against his right shoulder. The tension in him uncoils just a bit, enough for Trinn to notice, and he can feel the bed dip as Trinn climbs onto the mattress to sit down behind him.

"What's wrong?" he asks, gently kneading his fingers into the tightness of his shoulder.

"Nothing."

"Arthur..."

Trinn knows that it's not nothing. The truth is that his thoughts and his arm are agonizing him, mental and physical pain bearing down hard. Arthur wishes that he could sneak more past Trinn's watchful gaze, but the scribe is only trying to help him. He's never done Arthur wrong, and Arthur doesn't think he's about to start.

"I worry for Danse and Aurelia," Arthur says after a long pause. He says nothing about the deep, throbbing pain in his arm.

"I see. Worried that they won't come back?"

"Yes. Worried that they're dead, that I'll never see them again."

Trinn's free arm slips around Arthur's waist, hugging him from behind.

"I think they're okay," Trinn replies. "Danse knew what he was getting himself into. He's a paladin, and he has the knowledge and experience he needs. Aurelia spent her whole first year outside of the Vault running all over the Capital Wasteland. She's used to exploring the unknown."

"What if it isn't enough?"

"I don't know. But I think they'll be fine. Your brother and sister will come back to you, as they always have."

Trinn kisses Arthur on the cheek before giving him a reassuring squeeze. Silence settles over them both, and Arthur tries to think of something other than the horrible images of Danse and Aurelia and the searing pain. Trinn's chest is flush against his back, warm and solid, the arm around Arthur's waist pulling him back into Trinn's embrace. Arthur closes his eyes, focuses on the points of contact between the two of them; arm against his belly, chest against his back, hand against his shoulder. Warm breath against his neck, Trinn's cheek pressed against his other shoulder.

Arthur moves his left hand to cover Trinn's at his hip, threading their fingers together.

"I can stay here tonight if you need me," Trinn says quietly. "I might have to leave early in the morning, but I can stay."

"I- I would prefer that," Arthur replies, and Trinn nods.


	3. Blue Skies And Sunshine Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short update! Sorry this hasn't had much updating lately, I've been focusing a lot on Newcomer since that's the main fic.
> 
> This chapter introduces Hazard, and the events of this chapter are the same as Chapter 4 of Newcomer.

Aurelia and Danse return not even two days later.

They arrive in the same old kind of rickety Vertibird that carries every other Brotherhood member, docking with the same slightly rough landing. Prema is the one who runs in to tell Sarah as she and Arthur have another meeting (of course it's one of the Court; they keep their eyes on everything that happens on the ship, after all), and Sarah's eyes glance at Arthur for a moment before she thanks Prema for the information and rises. She's expecting Aurelia and Danse to come directly to her, he knows, and she's keeping him here so that he can properly greet his siblings without worrying about prying eyes.

Sarah is an angel, Arthur thinks.

He's a little disappointed and slightly alarmed when the door opens and instead of Danse walking in behind Aurelia, it's a stranger; notably tall, shockingly pale hair with black roots showing, dark skin, with a bat that seems like it's seen better days strapped to their back. Arthur realizes that he's frowning far too late to fix the issue, because the stranger has already looked in his direction and quickly looked away when his expression hadn't changed.

"So, I ran into Danse after you all showed up in your giant atrocity to the sky..."

As expected, Aurelia has no modicum of respect for the Prydwen. Or for most of the people aboard it, Arthur knows. Aurelia skips ahead to explaining her following Danse's distress signal and finding his team there, or at least what was left of his team at that point. She keeps that description mercifully brief; she has no desire to explain in too much detail how she found Danse and the rest of his team, and Arthur doesn't want to hear about his siblings' near-death experiences either. Sarah will get what information she needs out of Danse later anyway.

The rest of her verbal report isn't very informative. It's mostly a confirmation of what the Brotherhood had already suspected or known, along with a very short introduction of the stranger. Arthur watches the stranger, Hazard, shift on her feet uncomfortably. His eyes are drawn to her hand, and he watches her fingers curl and uncurl slowly. There's a stiffness in her wrist, a kind that Arthur recognizes, and when she lifts her hand he gets a glimpse of pearly-white under the hem of her gloves. With how it clashes significantly with her dark skin, Arthur confirms his thoughts about what is actually under her glove.

Aurelia finally finishes her report, and moves to hug Sarah and gets a witty quip in response. Arthur continues to watch with the same blank expression, wondering if Aurelia is going to greet him too. She pulls away from Sarah, then turns to him with a grin.

"No hug for me, Arthur?"

Arthur smiles, and lifts Aurelia clear off her feet.

There's a soft "eep!" and a laugh from Aurelia that Arthur returns with a chuckle of his own, hugging her tightly against him. He knows that she's pulled her knees up so that he can lift her properly, as she always does.

"Hello, big sis," he says, his heart feeling like it's about to burst. Aurelia is back, her arms wrapped around his neck to keep herself balanced, solid, irrefutable proof that she's here and that she's real and that she's not dead in the Wasteland. She's not another body to mourn over.

She asks him if he's killed any deathclaws lately, and even with the teasing lilt in her voice he knows that he's being asked if he's been okay, if he's kept himself safe and healthy. Has he tended to his injuries from deployment properly, has he been seeing Captain Cade when he needs to, has he been sleeping well, has he cut down on his drinking? A thousand questions all wrapped into one, delivered with the love and care that few others could possibly pick up on. He answers with a joke in turn, he's been too busy lately to kill deathclaws or amass any more scars, but it's a confirmation that she has nothing to worry about for him.

If only he could tell her about his arm.

He lets Aurelia down when she asks him, her feet landing on the floor with an extra-loud _thump_. Arthur looks back at Hazard and nods curtly, trying to look properly dignified and not like he'd just lifted his sister in the air in a bear hug.

"So does he lose the ability to smile when you're not within six inches of him?"

Aurelia laughs at the stranger's comment, but Arthur doesn't. Aurelia, for what it's worth, quickly grabs his good arm and tugs him closer, her arm snaked around his protectively.

* * *

He knows that the stranger and Aurelia don't know why he frowns so much when he's away from Aurelia. He lets the comment slide, especially since the stranger seems to feel genuinely bad for the comment.

Arthur is glad that he has a moment to speak to her though, to finally talk to someone other than Captain Cade and Proctor Ingram about his prosthetic. Hazard pulls off her glove without a moment's hesitation and shows off her arm and hand, twisting it so that Arthur can get a proper look at it. It's pre-War made, clearly, and in some ways is probably more advanced than the one that he has. The inability to remove it sounds like a hassle though, and Arthur is glad that he can at least easily remove his arm. She grins when he does so, but the news that he's the last Maxson descendant doesn't seem to affect her much, thankfully. Hazard does as the usual question of siblings, how are he and Danse and Aurelia siblings? But she accepts his answer without question. Aurelia is his sister, Danse is his brother, that's just the way things are. Aurelia certainly has good judgement in making allies.

The look on her face though as he asks her about his pain comes as a shock, though. She stares at him as if he's just admitted that he's had a knife stuck inside his heart or something, and her concern doesn't fade one bit until he promises to let Captain Cade look at his arm and help him with the pain. Even then, she doesn't seem to fully believe that he'll do so, but Arthur is relieved that she's willing to keep his secret in return for getting help for his pain.

She has the same sort of familial caring that Arthur sees in Aurelia. Maybe it's the responsibility she feels over knowing he's in pain, or maybe it's the connection from both of them having prosthetics. Whatever the reason, Arthur can't say no to her. He promises to see Cade soon before he leaves Hazard for his quarters.

He's just met Hazard, and he's already lying to her face.

 

 


	4. Shield Bash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place right before [Chapter 7 of Hello There, Newcomer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6104042/chapters/17130949). If you're confused, it might be a good idea to read that chapter for extra context.
> 
> Warning for brief misgendering, and a discussion with transphobic and homophobic/biphobic undertones.

The whispers are starting to become louder.

"There goes Paladin Maxson, the smug little prince." Just a catch of a disgusted commented muttered under some initiate's breath, a little too loud accidentally-on-purpose as Arctura walks by with Brandon in tow, and he hears it too.

" _She's_ a smug little _princess_ today, thanks," he says at a voice level usually reserved for answering Kells when he's in boot-camp-commander-mode, loud enough that everyone in their immediate vicinity can hear. Arctura's hair is down today, one of those sure-fire ways of telling that today's an "Arctura" day and not an "Arthur" one, but there are plenty of people who never pay attention. Plenty of people look at Arctura like some sort of mental disorder, or a rebellious phase, or a grab for attention, as if Arthur is proof that Arctura is fake.

Two names can fucking coexist in one person. It's really not that difficult of a concept to understand and respect.

"It's unbecoming of a knight to entertain such immaturity," Arctura says as she walks. She's trying to simultaneously berate and thank Brandon, which is harder to do than she thought. Brandon shrugs, the message having come across loud and clear to him.

"It's also unbecoming of a bunch of fuckass initiates to be openly disrespectful to a paladin, ma'am."

"I am not a maiden in need of protecting, Knight Choi."

"Of course not, ma'am. You're a smug princess."

Arctura rolls her eyes; she can practically feel the grin on Brandon's face from behind her. She's about to turn the corner when a blur of black hair at roughly a foot above eye level rounds the corner and skillfully digs their heels into the metal to keep from colliding with Arctura.

"Knight Garcia?"

Esteban salutes, looking just as bleary-eyed as ever, possibly more so after their apparent mad dash.

"Sorry ma'am. Sentinel told me to make it a rush job. She needs to see you, ma'am."

Being called to Sarah's office is nothing new, but the way Esteban delivers the message with a touch of disdain sets off all the alarm bells in Arctura's head.

"Might I suggest that you not listen to what she says, Paladin Maxson?" Esteban is hardly one to be dismissive or disrespectful of authority, and yet here they are telling Arctura not to listen to Sarah. This isn't a matter of Brotherhood issues, then, or perhaps it is. "I very seriously doubt that she has anything to say that is true or helpful."

Well. That's rather aggressive. Brandon and Esteban share a look over Arctura's shoulder.

"Watch your tone, Knight," Arctura warns, but she takes Esteban's warning to heart. This is not going to be a fun conversation.

* * *

It isn't.

Sarah sits at her desk with both hands clasped in front of her mouth, very much trying to keep her composure. Arctura glares.

"I'm not saying this because I want you to be unhappy," Sarah sighs. "I'm saying this because you're going to end up hurt if you keep this up."

"Keep this up? Keep what up?" Arctura demands, trying to keep a lid on her temper. "I don't see how anything I do has been anything but my best."

"You're also damn good at pissing off Brotherhood officers, don't you think?"

Arctura huffs and crosses her arms.

"If what I do makes them so angry, that would be _their_ issue. I earned my rank. I have nothing less than exemplary record. I was given a role, and I've filled it with nothing less than complete dedication. I don't see why anyone would have any issue with my behavior."

Sarah catches on to the passive-aggressive tone of her voice, and immediately her demeanor changes again. She's angry now, Arctura knows. But Arctura is too, far angrier than Sarah ever could be.

"If you keep pushing back against them, they'll come down on you even harder. This isn't a joke. This isn't like making fun of the paladins that get upset when you kiss Trinn in public. You have a role to fill, like you said. If you don't fill it the way they want you to, they'll make you."

"I think I can handle myself, _Sentinel_."

"Don't do-"

"Don't what? Don't call Aurelia my sister? Don't be with Trinn? Don't call myself Arctura? I'm sorry, Sarah, but there's so much that I'm told not to do that it's a little difficult to keep track of what else I'm not allowed to do-"

"I'm being serious! This is a serious matter, and your flippant attitude doesn't help your position-"

"And this is my fault?"

"It's your fault for baiting them over and over again with your disobedience!"

"Disobedience, over what? Why should I let anyone dictate who and what I am any further than -"

"Because they aren't going to be gentle about it!"

"Anyone who tries to force me into anything is going to have to work for it."

"They won't care about you, they'll do whatever they think they need to."

"'They,' huh?"

Sarah stops.

"Excuse me?" she asks, her voice suddenly much quieter. Arctura narrows her eyes.

"You heard me. You keep saying 'they' as if you have nothing to do with it."

Arctura is expecting to be thrown out of Sarah's office. Or maybe indignant yelling. But Sarah doesn't move, doesn't tell her to get out.

"Do you really think that I agree with any of this?"

"Does it matter? You're still telling me what I can't do."

"Arctura-"

"I don't care whether or not you like it, you're still doing it. You're still siding with them. I thought you were on my side."

"I am."

"Is this your idea of taking my side?"

"I am trying," Sarah says, her voice dangerously level. "To keep you from getting hurt. The longer you dedicate to what you're doing, the harder it will be when you're forced to stop."

"But you'll let them force me into being what they want, won't you?"

"Do you have _any_ idea how much shit my father and I get for defending you?"

And thus begins the shouting.

"As opposed to the shit I get for being myself? Is THIS your idea of _defending?_ " Arctura asks in disbelief, her arm flying out in a vague gesture at Sarah. "Telling me that I have to do what the elders say or else? The fuck kind of defending is _THAT?_ "

"Why do you think you're even able to stay around Trinn? To even talk to Aurelia? For Aurelia to even be here? Why do you think I call you Arctura even if I get shit for it every single time I do for 'encouraging' you?" Sarah slams her fist onto the table for emphasis on "encouraging," making several objects rattle.

"Am I supposed to be thankful that you're not exactly like everyone else, then? Oh, thank you very much Sarah for not being an _utter piece of shit_ and for having a _single_ shred of basic human decency-"

"I'm not going to be here forever to protect you from them!"

"I don't need you to protect me, especially not if _this_ is what you think protecting is-"

"I am doing my best with what I have! Do you think I enjoy knowing that the only way to keep you from getting hurt any more is to make you lie?"

"I'd rather be dead than let anyone make me pretend like I'm not who I am. Even if it's you."

That seems to deliver a blow to Sarah; she exhales, lowering her head and looking down at her desk. She doesn't say anything, and Arctura doesn't expect her or want her to.

"Is that all, Sentinel?" she asks.

"...dismissed, Paladin."

Arctura turns on her heel and walks back to the door, frustration simmering inside. She stops at hearing Sarah's voice.

"Arctura. You know that I'm trying to help you."

"Trying and doing are two different things," Arctura replies curtly, and leaves before another fight can erupt.


	5. You Can Lead Your Best Friend To Your Boyfriend But You Can't Make Them Like Each Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all, the chapter title is exactly what this chapter is about.

Today has not been a good day.

In between yelling at Sarah (and getting yelled at by Sarah), having her trust in the Brotherhood challenged by Hazard (something that Arctura is not willing to unpack at the moment, thank you very much), and pissing off Danse (something she _is_ willing to admit that she did wrong about, of the three things to happen today), today has been nothing but arguments. Thankfully, there's only a few more hours that Arctura needs to be awake for and cognizant of anything going on around her.

She kind of wants to talk to Nata. She doesn't have any idea where Nata might be though, so it's time to wander the Prydwen for a bit like a puppy searching for its owner, she supposes.

Knight-Commander Natalia Wong. Arctura wouldn't call her popular, not exactly the way other Brotherhood members are popular among their brethren. Popularity tends to emerge in the Brotherhood in the form of soldiers known for their strength, lancers known for their skill, scribes known for their intellect. Outstanding members tend to pull attention first from those higher-ranking, and then from those lower or equally-ranking as the attention from above starts to become more obvious. It benefits you, after all, to place yourself near these remarkable individuals, because remarkable individuals are the ones who climb ranks faster than Quinlan's cat climbs lockers, and then you've got someone who might remember you well enough to help you out in some way.

Nata's popularity has nothing to do with that. Well, no, not to say that she isn't outstanding, she most certainly is to have gotten to Knight-Commander at a relatively young age, but her popularity hadn't really risen because of that. She's too humble, not ambitious enough for everyone else's taste, but Natalia Wong understands how popularity in the Brotherhood works and as long as she keeps her own rise in rank as low-key as possible she won't attract too much attention. This is exactly the way she wants things.

Apparently, that wasn't an issue when it came to befriending Arctura.

Nata is leaning against the railing of one of the overhang walkways when Arctura finds her. It tends to be quiet here, mostly only a place for people to come out for a smoke break, or a bit of fresh air without the workshop smell that the hangar has. The wind picks up significantly at this height at times, and today it's blowing Nata's hair almost free of its bun.

"You trying to get blown off the walkway?" Arctura asks, and Nata shrugs.

"Not exactly."

"Do you think the wind would ever get strong enough to blow me off?" Arctura walks over and leans a little bit over the railing to look down below at Boston Airport.

"The railing's too high," Nata replies. "And not wide enough for you to slide through. But you didn't come here to talk about falling off the Prydwen, I'm guessing."

"What, did you hear about how I fulfilled today's list of things to mess up?"

"I saw you storm out of Sarah's office. Wasn't sure if you wanted to talk about it though, and you looked like you wanted to go, so I didn't bother you."

This time it's Arctura's turn to shrug.

"Sarah has 'ideas' about 'helping' me, and they're all bullshit."

"I imagine."

Arctura turns around to sit down, her back leaning against the railing. Nata glances down at her, and Arctura glances up.

Nata loves her. Arctura knows that. In a myriad of ways; in that "you're my best friend and I'd fight a deathclaw for you" sort of way, in that "I'm in love with you and I want you to be happy" sort of way, in that "I care about you so deeply that it hurts sometimes" sort of way. Arctura sees it in Nata's face sometimes, brief flickers of something Arctura sees in Trinn's face, except in Trinn it's not brief or hidden or masked with anything. Trinn doesn't have to do that.

Nata has a very, very contentious relationship with Arctura. Trinn doesn't like Nata. The Court doesn't like Nata. Aurelia and Danse don't like Nata. Possibly every scribe below the rank of Proctor doesn't like Nata. Proctor Quinlan might not like Nata either, but that's a slightly separate issue here.

And, well, in turn, Nata doesn't like Trinn and every single scribe that doesn't like her. She apparently doesn't begrudge the Court or Aurelia or Danse of their dislike of her, but she never backs down in her distrust of Trinn. Arctura has caught Nata snapping at scribes before in fights that definitely started because someone had something to say about Nata talking to Arctura. Nata doesn't bring it up anymore because Arctura doesn't like it and Arctura is a grown adult with the ability to make her own choices, but Arctura knows Nata doesn't trust Trinn.

Trinn doesn't trust Nata either. Both of them can't really accept that the other doesn't have some sort of ulterior motives. Understandable, given what position it puts them both in by being close to Arctura, but Arctura knows it just isn't true. Just as the scribes make up outlandish claims about Nata, so do the knights about Trinn.

Life is difficult.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Nata asks.

Arctura wants to talk about a lot of things. But she'll just have to settle for today's events for right now.

* * *

"Oh."

Arctura and Nata both look up to find Trinn at the doorway. Trinn's face does something that looks like he's trying to keep from shoving Nata off the walkway, although if he did try he would have to get past Arctura. And Trinn doesn't actually shove people off of walkways no matter how much he might hate someone.

"Did you need something, Scribe Rosner?" Nata asks. Arctura kind of wants to kick her in the shins.

"I was looking for Arctura is all," Trinn replies. Neither of them have a tone of voice for a fight, although Arctura knows better than that. "I didn't know you smoked, Knight Wong."

"I don't. I just enjoy the relative privacy up here."

Arctura would give Nata a look if Trinn wasn't here to get satisfaction out of it.

"I thought Knights were supposed to be ready for deployment at a moment's notice."

"Trinn, did you need to talk to me?" Arctura asks, interrupting before the "conversation" turns into something worse.

"I just needed you to sign off on that last pile of laser pistols the Court handed over," Trinn replies. "I need it out of the way before I can start working on what Paladin Ahmed brought in."

"Alright, I'm coming."

Arctura stands up and puts her hand on Nata's arm for a moment.

"Thanks for listening. I'll see you later," she says, and Nata smiles. The earlier hostility is gone from her face.

"See ya."

* * *

Once out of earshot of Nata, Arctura turns to Trinn and stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

" _Why do you keep doing that?!_ "she hisses, and Trinn scowls.

"Because I don't trust her!" he snaps. "Arctura, you know why she's-"

"And you know she says the same thing about you too, right?"

"The Court doesn't trust her, and neither do your siblings-"

"And they're not right either! Just because you have more people on your side doesn't make you right-"

"Just because she seems nice doesn't mean she's actually doing anything for your sake!"

Arctura inhales and lets out a frustrated growl.

"I'm an adult, and while I might not be as old as you are, I think I've spent enough time _living as myself_ to recognize when people are after my name," Arctura replies angrily. "I was right about Danse and I was right about Malika and I was right about you, and unless you're insisting that those were flukes-"

"I'm not, but people have a vested interest in getting someone like her close to you. You understand that, right?"

"Nobody cared about her until she started talking to me! Nobody is setting this up!"

"Well, they care now, and there's no telling what anyone is setting up now-"

"I'm not talking about this," Arctura snaps. "I know you don't like her, but she hasn't done anything to me or to you beyond make snippy comments because you can't be nice!"

"What, that wasn't a snippy comment back there she made?"

"Trinn, do you even have a real reason for me to leave?"

Trinn stares at Arctura for a moment.

"I need your signature so I can get the stuff the Court brought me out of my way. I have work I need to do," he finally says. "I wasn't lying."

"Alright."

Arctura wants Trinn to understand. Whether or not he does, though, is really and truly only up to him.


	6. Tattletale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after [chapter 9 of Hello There, Newcomer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6104042/chapters/21629681).

"So Aurelia and her pal are planning a trip to the Glowing Sea," Cutler says, and immediately both Arthur and Danse choke on their food.

That actually explains the lack of communication from Aurelia in the past few weeks, Arthur thinks as he coughs against a painfully large chunk of Cram. Prema helpfully smacks him between the shoulderblades while Danse stares at Cutler, who is still sitting very casually with one hand propped up under his chin as if he hasn't just told two siblings that their oldest sibling is planning on walking straight into death. Haylen is quite the opposite, looking completely aghast as her hand freezes midway to spooning her soup to her mouth.

What a great topic to talk about in the middle of the mess hall.

"How do you know this?" Prema asks, now that Arthur's trachea is Cram-free. Arthur rubs his sternum a bit.

"She ran up to me and tried to shove me down some stairs in Diamond City," Cutler explains. "I mean. Sort of. She could probably shove me down stairs if she really wanted to. Saw her and her lady friend literally cleaning out several vendors of their whole stock of Rad-X and Rad-Away."

"That doesn't mean they're going to the Glowing Sea," Rhys points out.

"They were also _talking_ about going to the Glowing Sea, and something about Hazard not having proper protection."

"They're both going to die," Arthur groans, leaning back a bit in his chair. "Fucking hell, they're going to die and we don't even get to know why."

Danse is rubbing his temples like he's getting a bad headache. Rhys looks like he wants to say something but thinks better of it, and continues to shove noodles in his mouth a little too aggressively. He opens his mouth, starts to say something, and then immediately clamps his mouth shut.

"What?" Prema asks. "Rhys?"

"Nothing," he snaps. Prema is completely unfazed.

"Don't be an asshole," she snipes back. "You said something."

Rhys glares at her, but relents nonetheless.

"...I was going to say it's fucking shitty of her to go get herself killed after all of _this_ ," he mutters. "What's another dead body to Top, sure."

At least three voices go up at once, and Rhys flinches at all of the noise. Prema's outraged "hey!" is covered by Cutler's "what?" and Haylen's curt " _Rhys!_ "

"I'm being serious!" he half-yells, remembering to keep his voice down after a few heads turn. "She's- you don't disappear off to places without telling people! And not when you know your brother's just lost over half of his team-"

There's an aborted noise of frustration from Rhys before he stops talking again and stares down at his bowl.

"He's right," Arthur says. "Aurelia should know better. Even if she didn't tell Sentinel Lyons, she would have told us. She would have at least told Danse or me."

"But instead she didn't, and you're only finding out through me?" Cutler adds. "Something's up. I know Aurelia's always been a fan of sneaking around, but she doesn't keep secrets quite like this."

"She's always kept secrets," Prema sighs. "She doesn't tell us everything, no matter what."

She's right, even though Arthur doesn't like it. Aurelia's faith in the Brotherhood keeps slipping, she definitely doesn't abide by the Codex, and she's growing in favor of cooperating with Hazard and the Minutemen over the Brotherhood. Arthur shoves another chunk of Cram in his mouth and tries to focus on eating.

"We're relying on her too much," Rhys says. "All of you should know this. It's dangerous to put so much faith in someone who isn't Brotherhood."

"Rhys," Haylen starts to chide, but he cuts her off.

"I know you think she's great, and I don't think she's terrible, but Brotherhood comes first. If she ever has to make a decision, she could just as easily turn on us as take our side."

"Aurelia would never do that," Danse says, tension in his shoulders. Rhys is toeing a very dangerous line, not just with Danse but with Arthur as well. Prema puts her hand on Arthur's shoulder in forewarning. Rhys, for once in his life, doesn't relent to Danse, and tries to shoot back a response.

"Drop it, both of you," Cutler mutters in an unusually commanding voice. "Rhys, think about who you're back-talking. Danse, he's got a damn point."

That somehow settles the argument before it really begins. Rhys's head snaps back down, eyes glowering at his bowl instead of at Danse. Danse watches Rhys carefully, as if waiting for Rhys to lash out at him again.

"I'm expected by Proctor Ingram," he says, finally, and rises from his seat; Cutler's eyes flick up as Danse stands, and they continue to watch as Danse gathers his plate and fork from the table and walks away.

"Knight Rhys," Arthur says, and Rhys doesn't react at all. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, sir," Rhys replies. Haylen and Cutler stare at Rhys for a moment before both of them turn to Arthur with matching looks that convey a sense of "what on earth did you think he was going to say." Arthur shifts in his seat uncomfortably; he doesn't really know where he stands with the members of Gladius, to be honest. And looking between Cutler, and Rhys, and Haylen, all that's left of Gladius, he realizes that he never will, fully.

Rhys is fully formal with Arthur at all times; it's always "sir" and "Paladin" and "permission to speak freely sir," even though his requests to speak freely inevitably still retain a good amount of professionalism. Haylen steps over the line sometimes, and although she refers to Arthur's rank as she should, her tone of voice and facial expressions undoubtedly are not ones she would use around other paladins. And Cutler, who has never really taken to the formality of Brotherhood ranks, utterly disregards any and all formality toward Arthur. It's only in official settings that he calls Arthur "Paladin Maxson." Arthur isn't sure if he likes it or hates it.

Prema is making a face right back at Cutler and Haylen. Of course she's defensive about it, and Arthur wants to tell her to cut it out. The Court is serious about their job of protecting Arthur, but they really do take it a little too far sometimes. He doesn't need his bodyguards glaring at people because he got a look for being stupid.

"Knight Narang," he says, and Prema looks to him immediately. "We should speak to Sentinel Lyons about what Knight Fija saw. Knight Fija-"

"You're gonna tattle on Aurelia?" Cutler asks, and he genuinely looks surprised. "And what have I got to do with it?"

"You saw what happened," Arthur replies. "You need to tell the Sentinel."

"What, Mio and Mack don't get dragged into this too?"

"I'll have Knight-Commander Dartmouth look for-"

Arthur startles as he looks up and sees two faces resting their chins on Cutler's shoulders.

"...them," he finishes, and Scribe Mio and Scribe Mack giggle.

Trinn's two apprentices are a mystery to Arthur. To call them apprentices would be technically incorrect; they've already climbed the ranks to full scribe status, but rather than separate themselves from their teacher the two of them elected to continue helping Trinn with his projects. They handle much of the research and experimental side of Trinn's work, and despite the undoubtedly high workload on them, they seem to be everywhere at all times. Arthur is half-convinced that they have twins they aren't telling anyone about.

They've both taken a liking to Arthur, for some reason. They're as respectful as they should be toward a Paladin and a Maxson descendant, but he's not quite sure that they believe in the inherent "forged in steel" strength of the Maxson line. One small relief.

"You always send Malika after us, sir," Mio says.

"It's always Malik these days," Mack adds.

"He finds you the fastest."

"That's a lie, he doesn't find us."

"She's the most polite."

"So, you're admitting to hiding when you're needed, simply because you don't like the person who was sent to fetch you?" Arthur asks, one eyebrow raising.

"They can learn to be less rude," Mack replies, and Mio nods in assent. "And then maybe their jobs will be less difficult."

"I'm not rude," Prema says defensively. Mack and Mio turn toward her with looks of disbelief.

"So, we gonna go tattle on Aurelia then?" Cutler interrupts, apparently not at all bothered by having Mio hanging off of his shoulder.

「Tattle? 何かあったの？」Mio asks.

「AureliaとMiss Bhatiaのこと、ダイアモンドシティで見たのをセンチネルに話せ、ってアーサーがゆってるの。」Cutler says, and the only parts of the conversation Arthur understands are the very plainly spoken-in-English names and something about Diamond City. Mio turns to Mack and for a moment, it looks like they're having a silent conversation of their own.

"Alright, I guess," Mack replies to nobody in particular. "I'm curious to see what happens from it."

"It'll work out somehow," Mio says. "Don't worry about that."

Arthur's a little unsettled at the nonchalant insistence that things will "work out." In his experience, very little has ever "worked out" the way he's wanted them to.


End file.
